Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-24
FOUR LIVING HUSBANDS.
Curious History of a Variety Act
ress With Mania for Marriage.
From the Neao York Herald.


From the Neoc York Herald.
CHICAGO. March 20.-A variety actress
was buried In this city last Sunday whose
tombstone will probably wear a puzzling
epitaph. At the time Of her death she
was the wife of one DR.. Palmer, who is at
present confined in the county Jail for
trifiing with some of the ten command
ments. But the woman had been, during
the forty years of her life, the wife of Jour
men. She never was divorced from any
of them, and all four of them are alive TO-
day.
This state OF things is somewhat irregu-
lar, of course, but then Mrs. Palmer was
somewhat irregular herself. But 1t is a
very interesting story, just the same.
she was born Josephine DuttOn in New
Orleans in 1s47. When ID years old her
parents died, leaving a prosperous estate
worth quite 100000. In addition to this
good luck Miss DuIton had the face of
Psyche and the form Of Phyrne. She was
more than good to look upon and men
broke their hearts for the caprlcious lit
tie damsel. She had but to nod approval
and wed whom she wished. Strange to
say, she tell in love with a gambling
roue, Charles Melville oy name. His
gambling rooms on Poydras street were
City. Well, Melville had an easy con-
quest Of it, and six months after Miss
DuttOn became an orphan she married
her iIl-chOsen love. lie wearied OF his
child wife, robbed her of her money and
finally beat her. This was more than
her proud nature could endure. One
night she quietly left her home, and her
Whereabouts for a Time was complete
mystery. She did not even leave part
Cn~ hnr fFt l.. nh
At last she was heard from in Savan-
nan. There she taught school until.
wearying of the drudgery, she married
one WhIffen. For five years she hon
ored him with her companiOnship, and a
pretty yirl came to bless the union. Then
there was repetition of the vanishing
lady act. The child again was left be-
hind.
Mrs. Melville Whiffen came West, and
in Detroit, Wis. she met another fate in
one Joseph Goss, a wealthy leather dealer.
In their marriage license she called her
self Josephine Dutton. GOss seems to
have been man alter her heart, for she
lived oontentedly with him for eight
years. A week ago, by the side of the
diving woman in the house at 2,1l9
Dearborn street, stood the offspring
OF that union. She was n blue.
eyed, curly haired girl. People knew her
Dy Tue name Vi MAY FOTItsJs NdIIGlJ NC
tress. You can see n picture OF her IN "a
"Garden of Eden" costume In a certain
shop window on Broadway. But May
FORESTS father was not Mrs. Melville
Whlffen-Goss' last husband. That dis
tinction was preserved tor another. One
day Mays mother disappeared "a myste-
riously as before from Detroit. New
York was the scene of her next adven-
ture. There she adopted the stage for
livelihood. and was one OF the brightest
nymphs in the famous Lydia Thompson
troupe. She tarried for five years in the
metropolis. Possibly she married there,
but If she did 1t Ia not in the record of her
career.
At Cleveland, o., she was next heard
from. There she met her fourth fate In
DIR. Palmer, whom she married again
as Josephine DuttOn. After brief resi-
dence there the couple came to Chicago.
Here they seemed TO live happily together,
and Mrs. Melville W hiffen- Goss- Palmer
light have got over her oapricious dis
position but for the fact that the doctor
was rash enough TO tread on the laws
toes, and 80 prison bars separated him
from the deathbed OF his wife. still, he
may find some consolation IN the young
child that she lett to his paternal care,
and he can feel, too, that he will not suffer
as his predecessors the pangs Of a wiie's
dislOyalty.
This is not tragic story, perhaps, but
II is certainly unique. -Four times mar
ried, never widow, never divorced aud
never arrested for bigamy. Stranger than
all, too, the story is true In every detail,